The eastern and northern walls of the baptistery feature the main artistic program, which is a procession of women. This chapter surveys and challenges the usual identification and interpretation of ...
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The eastern and northern walls of the baptistery feature the main artistic program, which is a procession of women. This chapter surveys and challenges the usual identification and interpretation of these female figures. While the traditional interpretation of them as the women at the tomb of Christ on Easter morning has arguments to support it, the preponderance of evidence supports our recovering an old counter-proposal, which identifies them as virgins at a wedding. When biblical, artistic, and ritual sources are read with this in mind, the singular importance of marriage motifs in early Syrian Christianity becomes clear. The closest artistic comparanda from Syria render a biblical wedding procession—that of Jesus’ Parable of the Wise and Foolish Virgins—with the same iconography as the figures on Dura’s walls. In addition, the motif of spiritual marriage at initiation in a “bridal chamber” was very prominent in proximate textual traditions. That being said, ritual texts and homilies from the fourth century begin to show metaphorical interference between imagery of weddings and funerals, and so polysemic interpretations of this procession are certainly warranted. The marriage motif dominates, but does not completely subordinate, the notions of death and resurrection at initiation.Less

The Procession of Women

Michael Peppard

Published in print: 2016-01-05

The eastern and northern walls of the baptistery feature the main artistic program, which is a procession of women. This chapter surveys and challenges the usual identification and interpretation of these female figures. While the traditional interpretation of them as the women at the tomb of Christ on Easter morning has arguments to support it, the preponderance of evidence supports our recovering an old counter-proposal, which identifies them as virgins at a wedding. When biblical, artistic, and ritual sources are read with this in mind, the singular importance of marriage motifs in early Syrian Christianity becomes clear. The closest artistic comparanda from Syria render a biblical wedding procession—that of Jesus’ Parable of the Wise and Foolish Virgins—with the same iconography as the figures on Dura’s walls. In addition, the motif of spiritual marriage at initiation in a “bridal chamber” was very prominent in proximate textual traditions. That being said, ritual texts and homilies from the fourth century begin to show metaphorical interference between imagery of weddings and funerals, and so polysemic interpretations of this procession are certainly warranted. The marriage motif dominates, but does not completely subordinate, the notions of death and resurrection at initiation.

Chŏng Tojŏn, one of the most influential thinkers in Korean history, played a leading role in the establishment of the Chosŏn dynasty (1392–1910). Long recognized for his contributions to the ...
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Chŏng Tojŏn, one of the most influential thinkers in Korean history, played a leading role in the establishment of the Chosŏn dynasty (1392–1910). Long recognized for his contributions to the development of Neo-Confucianism in Korea, Chŏng was both a prodigious writer and an influential statesman before being murdered in a political coup. Seeking Order in a Tumultuous Age charts Chŏng’s rise to prominence amidst the turmoil of the late fourteenth century, when Korea struggled to come to terms with the political, military, and intellectual changes of an emerging new East Asian international order. In addition to providing a clear and accessible introduction to the broader world of fourteenth-century Korea, the book provides a fascinating window into Chŏng as a person through annotated translations of his poetry, letters, and political writings–most of them previously unavailable in English. Chŏng’s written works reveal a firm conviction that Chinese classical traditions and recent intellectual developments on the continent contained vital lessons for Korea. Chŏng believed unwaveringly in educated and engaged men as the preservers, interpreters, and implementers of such wisdom and was adamant that they should be given great power and authority in government.Less

Seeking Order in a Tumultuous Age : The Writings of Chong Tojon, a Korean Neo-Confucian

Chong Tojon

Published in print: 2016-08-31

Chŏng Tojŏn, one of the most influential thinkers in Korean history, played a leading role in the establishment of the Chosŏn dynasty (1392–1910). Long recognized for his contributions to the development of Neo-Confucianism in Korea, Chŏng was both a prodigious writer and an influential statesman before being murdered in a political coup. Seeking Order in a Tumultuous Age charts Chŏng’s rise to prominence amidst the turmoil of the late fourteenth century, when Korea struggled to come to terms with the political, military, and intellectual changes of an emerging new East Asian international order. In addition to providing a clear and accessible introduction to the broader world of fourteenth-century Korea, the book provides a fascinating window into Chŏng as a person through annotated translations of his poetry, letters, and political writings–most of them previously unavailable in English. Chŏng’s written works reveal a firm conviction that Chinese classical traditions and recent intellectual developments on the continent contained vital lessons for Korea. Chŏng believed unwaveringly in educated and engaged men as the preservers, interpreters, and implementers of such wisdom and was adamant that they should be given great power and authority in government.

This chapter discusses violence against women in the context of broader pro-Beijing and pro-democracy movements. In Hong Kong, the significance of the political transition is apparent in the ...
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This chapter discusses violence against women in the context of broader pro-Beijing and pro-democracy movements. In Hong Kong, the significance of the political transition is apparent in the development of oppositional politics, characterized by movements enabling the collective contestation of economic and political power relations, organizing to articulate oppositional and competing frames of democracy, human rights, and feminism, and maintaining freedoms of speech, assembly, and the press. The Hong Kong Women's Coalition on Equal Opportunities is the most prominent coalition of rights-based, grassroots-oriented women's groups, albeit diverse feminist organizational forms, rhetoric, and strategies. In contrast, the Hong Kong Federation of Women unites and propagates patriotic and nationalist passions among women's groups. Both coalitions have common concerns about local women's issues but they rely on different economic, political, and social networks and employ opposing rhetoric and strategies. Given the hierarchical, corporatist dimensions of the Hong Kong government and its complex interactions with the Beijing government, feminist engagement with state institutions and processes is always combined with efforts to maintain broader transformatory struggle and movement-oriented activism.Less

Boundaries and Spaces

Adelyn Lim

Published in print: 2015-06-01

This chapter discusses violence against women in the context of broader pro-Beijing and pro-democracy movements. In Hong Kong, the significance of the political transition is apparent in the development of oppositional politics, characterized by movements enabling the collective contestation of economic and political power relations, organizing to articulate oppositional and competing frames of democracy, human rights, and feminism, and maintaining freedoms of speech, assembly, and the press. The Hong Kong Women's Coalition on Equal Opportunities is the most prominent coalition of rights-based, grassroots-oriented women's groups, albeit diverse feminist organizational forms, rhetoric, and strategies. In contrast, the Hong Kong Federation of Women unites and propagates patriotic and nationalist passions among women's groups. Both coalitions have common concerns about local women's issues but they rely on different economic, political, and social networks and employ opposing rhetoric and strategies. Given the hierarchical, corporatist dimensions of the Hong Kong government and its complex interactions with the Beijing government, feminist engagement with state institutions and processes is always combined with efforts to maintain broader transformatory struggle and movement-oriented activism.

‘The volunteers’ farewell: closing rituals, genteel ironies’ recounts the activities and perspectives of volunteers, Government officials, the Church, strikers, and various media at the end of the ...
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‘The volunteers’ farewell: closing rituals, genteel ironies’ recounts the activities and perspectives of volunteers, Government officials, the Church, strikers, and various media at the end of the General Strike. The Liberal press, the King, and the Church took a neutral position and called for a binding up of the wounds. Most newspapers, however, blamed one side or the other, depending upon their political perspective. The strike ended with the Labour Party and the Trades Union Congress more isolated than ever from Prime Minister Baldwin's Conservative Government, the mine owners, and the majority of public opinion.Less

The volunteers' farewell: closing rituals, genteel ironies

Rachelle Hope Saltzman

Published in print: 2012-01-01

‘The volunteers’ farewell: closing rituals, genteel ironies’ recounts the activities and perspectives of volunteers, Government officials, the Church, strikers, and various media at the end of the General Strike. The Liberal press, the King, and the Church took a neutral position and called for a binding up of the wounds. Most newspapers, however, blamed one side or the other, depending upon their political perspective. The strike ended with the Labour Party and the Trades Union Congress more isolated than ever from Prime Minister Baldwin's Conservative Government, the mine owners, and the majority of public opinion.

Islam, Christianity and Judaism share several common features, including their historical origins in the prophet Abraham, their belief in a single divine being, and their modern global expanse. Yet ...
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Islam, Christianity and Judaism share several common features, including their historical origins in the prophet Abraham, their belief in a single divine being, and their modern global expanse. Yet it is the seeming closeness of these “Abrahamic” religions that draws attention to the real or imagined differences between them. This volume examines Abrahamic cultures as minority groups in societies which may be majority Muslim, Christian or Jewish, or self-consciously secular. The focus is on the relationships between these religious identities in global Diaspora, where all of them are confronted with claims about national and individual difference. The case studies range from colonial Hong Kong and Victorian London to today’s San Francisco and rural India. Each study shows how complex such relationships can be and how important it is to situate them in the cultural, ethnic, and historical context of their world. The chapters explore ritual practice, conversion, colonization, immigration, and cultural representations of the differences between the Abrahamic religions. An important theme is how the complex patterns of interaction among these religions embrace collaboration as well as conflict—even in the modern Middle East. This work by authors from several academic disciplines on a topic of crucial importance will be of interest to scholars of history, theology, sociology and cultural studies as well as to the general reader interested in how minority groups have interacted and coexisted.Less

Judaism, Christianity and Islam : Collaboration and Conflict in the Age of Diaspora

Published in print: 2014-11-01

Islam, Christianity and Judaism share several common features, including their historical origins in the prophet Abraham, their belief in a single divine being, and their modern global expanse. Yet it is the seeming closeness of these “Abrahamic” religions that draws attention to the real or imagined differences between them. This volume examines Abrahamic cultures as minority groups in societies which may be majority Muslim, Christian or Jewish, or self-consciously secular. The focus is on the relationships between these religious identities in global Diaspora, where all of them are confronted with claims about national and individual difference. The case studies range from colonial Hong Kong and Victorian London to today’s San Francisco and rural India. Each study shows how complex such relationships can be and how important it is to situate them in the cultural, ethnic, and historical context of their world. The chapters explore ritual practice, conversion, colonization, immigration, and cultural representations of the differences between the Abrahamic religions. An important theme is how the complex patterns of interaction among these religions embrace collaboration as well as conflict—even in the modern Middle East. This work by authors from several academic disciplines on a topic of crucial importance will be of interest to scholars of history, theology, sociology and cultural studies as well as to the general reader interested in how minority groups have interacted and coexisted.

Chapter 1 is a cultural critique on the phenomenon of sacred text translation, centering on the enormous global Bible translation project, but also including comparative references to the Qur‘an, and ...
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Chapter 1 is a cultural critique on the phenomenon of sacred text translation, centering on the enormous global Bible translation project, but also including comparative references to the Qur‘an, and to sacred texts of religions other than Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. This is framed by a general discussion of the triangular relationship of language, religion and nationalism.Less

Peoples of the Book : Religion, Language, Nationalism, and the Politics of Sacred Text Translation1

Martin J. WeinBenjamin Hary

Published in print: 2014-11-01

Chapter 1 is a cultural critique on the phenomenon of sacred text translation, centering on the enormous global Bible translation project, but also including comparative references to the Qur‘an, and to sacred texts of religions other than Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. This is framed by a general discussion of the triangular relationship of language, religion and nationalism.

This chapter discusses tensions between Jews and Muslims concerning issues such as genocide and politics. This account of contemporary research will conclude that collaboration can occur if one can ...
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This chapter discusses tensions between Jews and Muslims concerning issues such as genocide and politics. This account of contemporary research will conclude that collaboration can occur if one can create case studies of suffering of one group even when the other group denies pain in contemporary life, whether through political or social means. This case study hopes to offset the imbalance between the Jews and Muslims by providing an account of the denial of one group’s suffering.Less

Jews and Muslims : Collaboration through Acknowledging the Shoah

Mehnaz M. Afridi

Published in print: 2014-11-01

This chapter discusses tensions between Jews and Muslims concerning issues such as genocide and politics. This account of contemporary research will conclude that collaboration can occur if one can create case studies of suffering of one group even when the other group denies pain in contemporary life, whether through political or social means. This case study hopes to offset the imbalance between the Jews and Muslims by providing an account of the denial of one group’s suffering.

The world of interreligious relationships is the theme of Chapter 4. The author focuses on the intimate relationship between Christian thinker Eugen Rosenstock-Huessy and his intimate correspondent ...
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The world of interreligious relationships is the theme of Chapter 4. The author focuses on the intimate relationship between Christian thinker Eugen Rosenstock-Huessy and his intimate correspondent the Jewish theologian Franz Rosenzweig. The chapter also expands on the discussion to the dialogue between the West and Islam. The fragmentation of the Abrahamic religions can be explored through the contrasts between them by examining the relationships within them.Less

Inimical Friendships?—Eugen Rosenstock-Huessy, Franz Rosenzweig, and Dialogue between the West and Islam

Wayne Cristaudo

Published in print: 2014-11-01

The world of interreligious relationships is the theme of Chapter 4. The author focuses on the intimate relationship between Christian thinker Eugen Rosenstock-Huessy and his intimate correspondent the Jewish theologian Franz Rosenzweig. The chapter also expands on the discussion to the dialogue between the West and Islam. The fragmentation of the Abrahamic religions can be explored through the contrasts between them by examining the relationships within them.

This essay looks into the conflicts and collaborations amongst different Jewish groups in Hong Kong from the second half of the nineteenth century to the years following Hong Kong’s handover to the ...
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This essay looks into the conflicts and collaborations amongst different Jewish groups in Hong Kong from the second half of the nineteenth century to the years following Hong Kong’s handover to the People’s Republic of China (PRC) in 1997. In examining this former British Colony, now a Special Administrative Region (SAR) of People’s Republic of China, this essay adds a new dimension to the parallel discussions of intra-communal Jewish life in Europe and North AmericaLess

Collaborating and Conflicted : Being Jewish in Secular and Multicultural Hong Kong

Zhou Xun

Published in print: 2014-11-01

This essay looks into the conflicts and collaborations amongst different Jewish groups in Hong Kong from the second half of the nineteenth century to the years following Hong Kong’s handover to the People’s Republic of China (PRC) in 1997. In examining this former British Colony, now a Special Administrative Region (SAR) of People’s Republic of China, this essay adds a new dimension to the parallel discussions of intra-communal Jewish life in Europe and North America

This chapter call attention to the fluid, processual, and context-dependent nature of Jewish-Muslim relations. The author will focus on a number of historical and ethnographic episodes pertaining to ...
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This chapter call attention to the fluid, processual, and context-dependent nature of Jewish-Muslim relations. The author will focus on a number of historical and ethnographic episodes pertaining to the mutual perceptions of Jews and Muslims in South Asia to explore tropes of collaboration and conflict that are present in the accounts of both communities of the subcontinent and to reflect on the intricate and complex ways in which issues in local and global politics, such as Indian caste relations, the rhetoric of the “war on terror”, and the conflict in the Middle East, affect these relationsLess

Terrorists in the Village? : Negotiating Jewish-Muslim Relations in South Asia

Yulia Egorova

Published in print: 2014-11-01

This chapter call attention to the fluid, processual, and context-dependent nature of Jewish-Muslim relations. The author will focus on a number of historical and ethnographic episodes pertaining to the mutual perceptions of Jews and Muslims in South Asia to explore tropes of collaboration and conflict that are present in the accounts of both communities of the subcontinent and to reflect on the intricate and complex ways in which issues in local and global politics, such as Indian caste relations, the rhetoric of the “war on terror”, and the conflict in the Middle East, affect these relations